FEEDBACK: TUESDAY, June 15

Roddick: a paper tiger with teeth

I love your [Matthew Cronin's] writing, but I'm surprised you don't have your facts correct here. [Andy] Roddick won a title on clay (European red, no less) in 2003 in St. Poelten, Austria (wiping the dirt with [Nikolay] Davydenko 6-3, 6-2 in the final) the week before being trounced in the first round of Roland Garros by Sargis Sargsian. (You're not the only reporter to have missed this, and I've written to all of them.)

And I wasn't one of the people who considered Roddick a "paper tiger." Roddick didn't just "reach" the semifinals at the Aussie Open, he won what was arguably the best match of the year to get there with a performance that even he has forgotten about. (Roddick says that this year, with Gilbert's encouragement, he has and will come to the net more and improve his second serve. In his quarterfinal against [Younes] El Aynaoui, he approached net 117 times and won 62% of the points and won 69% of his second-serve points.) Federer didn't reach the quarterfinals at even one of the other three Slams. Roddick had the longest winning streak of the year, in the hottest months, no less, (beating Federer along the way for the first time) and his win/loss record for the summer was better than Patrick Rafter's 1998 run.

Federer finished the year strong and with some amazing tennis, but it was too late. The most amazing thing about Roddick's success in 2003 was that it came while he still had glaring weaknesses in his game, but he put it together upstairs and fought like a lion. That said, I agree totally that Roddick has to convince himself that he can beat Federer at Wimbledon. I believe he can. But does he?

Craig Hickman

Wimbledon seedings unfair to clay court specialists

I would stop alienating everyone who wasn't born and raised on grass. Seedings are the reward top players receive for putting in the effort. Why should Gaston Gaudio travel to London, when he knows he'll be disrespected there?

[Anastasia] Myskina has put in the time, has won a Slam, and it's obvious she won't be one of the Top 2.

You want to rank who's the favorite? Go to your local bookies. Seeding should reward you for what you've done, not how good your slice approach is.

Back in 1995, when the US Open wanted to bump [Thomas] Muster down to third, the players were threatening with a boycott. Why does Wimbledon get to dis South Americans and Spaniards? Remember: Sergi Bruguera beating [Patrick] Rafter 13-11 in the fifth set at '94 Wimbledon?

Related story: Roddick and Roger revive with wins on grass